'catabolic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'kataballein', where 'kata-' meant 'down' and 'ballein' meant 'to throw'.

'catabolic' changed from Neo-Latin word 'catabolism' (from Greek 'katabole'/'kataballein') and eventually became the modern English adjective and related noun forms 'catabolic' and 'catabolics'.

Initially, the Greek roots referred to 'throwing down' or 'a downward casting', but over time the sense shifted to 'breaking down' in a biological/metabolic context, which is the modern meaning.